23 May 2011

The National Capital Authority has extended the consultation period for public comments on its revised ‘Commitment to Community Engagement’.

The document was first introduced in July 2010, to outline the NCA’s policies and protocols for engaging with the community.

NCA Chief Executive, Gary Rake said the NCA remains committed to genuine engagement with the community. 

“We have undertaken a review of this commitment with the aim of improving the NCA’s engagement with the community, and the accountability and transparency of our decision making.” 

“The review enabled the NCA to explore and embrace new means of technology and mechanisms to reach stakeholders and interested parties when undertaking public consultation,” Mr Rake said

In summary, the revised commitment provides:

• flexibility for the NCA to go above and beyond the public consultation process described in the July 2010 document;
• the NCA with the ability to nominate stakeholders to consult, depending on the nature of the proposal;
• the NCA with the ability to assess works approval applications using a risk based approach, to determine when and how public consultation is undertaken; and
• greater consistency across the ACT in terms of consultation requirements on planning matters.

The revised Commitment to Community Engagement is available on the NCA’s consultation website, Have Your Say. 

Community feedback can be provided on the online discussion boards, or by hardcopy submissions.

Submissions close at 5pm AEST on Friday 17 June 2011.